Tuesday, October 6, 2015

There is a new ice cream parlour in our town named "Cream Stone". Has a great ambiance and the decor is pleasing. All ice creams are chopped pulverized hammered banged and beaten on a frozen stone platform. Amazing range of ice creams in exotic flavors and awesome tasting. A must visit for Coimbatoreans !

Monday, September 28, 2015

We had minestrone pasta soup on Saturday night. Quite a heavy soup and one bowlful can be quite fulfilling. You can always take extra helpings if you are hungry enough.On the side you can have nicely buttered bread slices.Here are the pictures of the process which are quite self explanatory.We added generous quantities of cheese to the soup as per requirement. Salt & pepper too as needed.The soup was super delicious.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Here are some pics of a maroon fencing around our tile roofed sit out as well as maroon colored gate. The fencing is a typical Kerala (South India) design and is termed in vernacular Malayalam language as "Charupadi". On the inside we have granite slabs for seating around 8 persons comfortably - for confabulations, conferences or coffee meets. Traditionally charupadi is constructed out of wood. But this one is from cement and given a wood like finish.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Dashamoola Jeerakadyarishtam is a liquid Ayurvedic medicine. It is mainly used
in after-delivery care of the mother. This product contains 5 – 10 % of
self generated alcohol. The alcohol, along with water acts as media for
the herbal active principles.Ingredients: It is a combination of equal parts of two medicines –
Dasamoolarishtam and Jeerakarishtam. Dashamoola – group of 10 roots, which are mainly used in inflammation (edema and pain) Jeeraka means cumin seeds, which are very useful post delivery. It improves digestion strength.

Uses: It is prescribed to the mothers, after delivery. It is also useful in rheumatoid arthritis, Sprue, diarrhoea, lack of
appetitie, gastritis, diseases of stomach and intestines It improves appetite.

Dose: 15 – 20 ml, once or twice a day, before or after food, as directed by Ayurvedic doctor.

Our daughter who lives in the US had both her deliveries in America. My wife had carried two bottles of this Arishtam for each of the deliveries. It had miraculous effect in post delivery health recovery. After the second delivery our daughter had severe gas problems which subsided completely after a few doses of this amazing syrup. A bottle of this Arishtam is always available at home primarily for treating indigestion or gas problems. We visit our doctor only if if the Ayurvedic Syrup fails to weave its magical effects.

This syrup has a high shelf life as you can see from the label above. A bottle of syrup prepared in April 2015 has an expiry date of March 2025 !

Monday, September 14, 2015

Health Benefits:Some of the best health benefits of millet include its ability to
protect your heart, protect yourself from diabetes, improve your
digestive system, lower your risk of cancer, detoxify the body, boost
respiratory health, optimize your immune system, increase your energy
levels, and improve your muscle and nerve health. Although there are many different varieties of millet grown around the world, the most commonyl cultivated is Pennisetum glaucum,
also known as pearl millet. In terms of history, millet likely
originated in Africa, but then spread through Asia and the Middle East
as early as 10,000 years ago, as it seems that millet was already quite
spread out by that point in ancient history. Their reliability to
survive harsh conditions made them the perfect crop, and they are still
preferred for that reason today.These small grain plants are primarily produced in India, who cultivates
over 8 million tons every years, followed by a number of larger African
countries and China.Milletcan
be used as a traditional cereal, but can also be used in porridge,
snacks, and other breads, as it is very high in starch, like most other
grains. Millet is also a very good source of nutrients, vitamins,
minerals, and organic compounds that can significantly boost human
health in various ways.Millet is gluten-free, so Celiac sufferers can turn to
millet as their source of grains, instead of wheat. In terms of basic
food staples that are praised as the simplest and most valuable
additions to diets around the world, millet provides the most energy, as
well as the most fat and B-vitamins.

Dosa made from Millet is not only healthy but very tasty too:

Method: Mix finely powdered millet and rice in equal ratio.Add finely chopped onions & green chilies and nicely minced coriander leaves & curry leaves and make the batter. Salt to requirement. The dosa to be made in a non stick pan. Eat with a variety of chutneys. Awesome !

If you can answer this simple maths puzzle you can consider yourself a maths wizard:
Bill takes the underground train to work and uses an escalator at the
railway station. If Bill runs up 6 steps of the escalator, then it
takes him 82.5 seconds to reach the top of the escalator. If he runs
up 14 steps of the escalator, then it takes him only 62.5 seconds to
reach the top.

How many seconds would it take Bill to reach the top if he did not run up any steps of the escalator at all?

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Mango ginger (Curcuma amada Roxb.) is a unique spice having morphological resemblance with ginger but imparts a raw mango flavour. The main use of mango ginger rhizome is in the manufacture of pickles and culinary preparations.In Ayurveda, Mango-ginger is used in treatment of skin itching, wounds,
cough, respiratory illness, hiccups, fever, inflammations, ear pain and
in vitiation of all tri-dosha. It has also many therapeutic properties and is especially useful in
digestive complaints. Its use gives relief in abdominal gas. It promotes
appetite and improves digestive strength.
Similar to ginger it is expectorant and gives relief in cold and cough.
Its use is also recommended in liver inflammation, joint pain,
rheumatism and inflammation due to injuries. The rhizomes are made into
paste and applied on sprains, bruise, and skin diseases.
In arthritis, Mango-ginger is used along with Moringa (Moringa
oleifera). For this purpose, 200g bark of Moringa is ground and boiled
with water. Due to evaporation of water a paste is prepared which is
collected and mixed with 100g Mango-ginger and 100g Maricha powder/
black pepper powder. This paste is applied on the joints.
Today we had mango ginger pickles for lunch and dinner: Preparation: Sliced mango ginger mixed with salt lime & cut green chilli.This makes a simple but awesomely tasty pickle, You can eat with curd rice or with uppuma or even eat raw. Deelliicciioouuss !

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

THE POWER OF TURMERIC: A few days ago I woke up to find a marble size
absces on my right lower chin. My initial reaction was to go see a
doctor.He would have probably prescribed an antibiotic for three days
along with anti inflammatory & antacid tablets. That would have made
the absces disappear but also considerably disturbed my digestive
system.
Instead I decided to turn to an age old Hindu practice of applying turmeric.Turmeric is said to possess anti septic anti inflammatory as well as curative properties.
Applied turmeric paste for two nights consecutively and the abscess has
considerably reduced in size.Probably should disappear completely by
tomorrow.
Turmeric has been used successfully by Hindu
practitioners ever since the Vedic period and now being rediscovered all
over again by western scientists. They have been even trying to patent
this. Anyway I saved around Rs.500/- by not going to a doctor ! Did I do the right thing ?

Friday, August 28, 2015

On 27th August 2015 we travelled by road from Trichy to Coimbatore. The roads were excellent but mostly single lane except for short stretches of three lane highway.heavy truck traffic impeded our progress. We travelled parallel to the river Cauvery for a considerable distance. There is a point in the river where it is the widest. This point is called the Akhanda Cauvery. Since there has been good rainfall in Karnataka and surplus water has been let out into Tamilnadu Metttur Dam has good storage and hence we could see fair amount of water in the river.

The sky shot was taken nearer to Coimbatore.There was generally bright sunshine and since we were traveling west wards the suns rays were falling directly on my eyes making driving difficult even with the sun visors lowered. We had some relief when the sun briefly went behind some clouds and that's when I clicked the sky.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

I am posting some pictures of our little pumpkin patch. We sowed some seeds around 3 months back and now the plants have grown prodigiously. We see beautiful yellow flowers every morning. But alas we are yet to see any pumpkins. I understand that there are male and female flowers and only when cross
pollination takes place pumpkins will appear. We are anxiously awaiting
appearance of little pumpkins :)

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Doesn't this nice and fluffy mushroom look delicious and edible - like an Uthappam or Appam ? Most mushrooms are edible but some are poisonous and must be
avoided. How do you then decide whether the mushroom you are looking at
is edible or not ?

Some call it a Nagapushpam because it looks like a hooded snake. Actually this is a marine species called sea pens or Pennatulecea. Sea pens are all colonial, marine species. They have earned the name
because many species, but certainly not all, look like an antique quill
pen. There are multiple polyps on each colony, and each polyp has eight
arms, as one should expect from a member of the subclass Octocorallia.
In contrast to other octocorals, the polyps of sea pens specialize to
perform specific tasks, like feeding or reproduction. All colonies have a
central stem.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

This year Independence Day pictures were prodigiously shared on whatsapp by a large cross section of people in India and abroad. I am sharing some of the several pictures I received.The current generation takes plenty of pride in knowing more about India's Independence struggle and sharing the joy of freedom accomplished through through decades of struggle.Mera Bharath Mahan - Sare Jahan Se Accha !

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Today is Happy Streets in Coimbatore. First city in Tamilnadu to launch
this. Venue: DB Road and TVSwamy Road. Will be on for 52 weeks every
Sunday between 7.00 AM - 10.00 AM. Main activities will be Cycling,Yoga
Dancing & a variety of Sports including football cricket badminton.
Inaugurated by Coimbatore Commissioner, Corporation Commissioner &
Police Commissioner. DJ in attendance.
Huge attendance today.Actor
Arya made a brief appearance. So much enthusiasm energy and exuberance
exhibited by Coimbatoreans. Attended by young and old alike. Looks like
this is going to be a grand succes.

Monday, May 11, 2015

Origin of Akasha Ganga: A great Vaishnava Saint Peria Tirumalai Nambi (973 AD) was performing services to Lord Venkateswara by bringing water from Papavinasam Falls for the daily morning puja of the Lord. Even during his advanced age the Saint was performing this service.The Lord took mercy on him and appeared in the form of a fowler and stood before him begging him for water to quench his thirst.The Saint refused to give him the water as the water was required to be offered to the Lords feet during puja.The fowler shot an arrow at the pot making a hole and drank the water.Tirumalai Nambi felt sad at this act of the fowler and started going back to Papavinasanam for bringing water.The fowler told him not to worry and immediately shot an arrow at a spot in the Anjanadri hills and sacred water gushed out.The fowler then appeared to the Saint as Lord Venkateswara and told him to draw water hereafter from this new water fall which is much nearer to the temple and named it Akasha Ganga.

The gushing waters of Akashganga are cool and refreshing. A wash and bath in this water has therapeutic effects.We drank copious quantity of this water and felt a new energy coursing through our veins.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Srivari Padam:Just about 5 kms from the main temple of Lord Venkateshwara/Balaji in
Tirumala is Srivari Paadam. .Presently there are no bus services to the
places and can be accessed with the help of private vehicles or jeeps
for hire. It is believed that the Lord descended on the earth at this
place and decided on the place where the temple is presently situated.
The Lord's feet are worshiped at this point on the hill.

Chakra Theertham is also a famous pond in Tirumala, which is
located
next to Silathoranam.This place houses a
Swayambu Lingam. It is believed that when Lord Brahma observed grief at
this
site, Lord Vishnu plunged his Sudarshana Chakra for cleansing it.The
Sudarshana Chakra then fell into a place, which later came to be
known as Chakra Theertham. This pond is known for cleanse bathers of
sins and lead them to the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu.

View of Tirumala hills from Sri Vari Padam@ 5 Kms from Main Temple

Sri Vari Padam-The Lords feet are worshiped here

Sri Chakra Teertham located near Silathoranam - You have to walk through a steep gradient and descend to a depth of around 150-200 ft to be able to see this Teertham